सत्यधर्मच्युतात् पुंसः क्रुद्धाद् आशीविषाद् इव ॥
अनास्तिको ऽप्य् उद्विजते जनः किं पुनर् आस्तिकः ॥
स्वयम् उत्पाद्य वै पुत्रं सदृशं यो ऽवमन्यते ॥
तस्य देवाः श्रियं घ्नन्ति न च लोकान् उपाश्नुते ॥
कुलवंशप्रतिष्ठां हि पितरः पुत्रम् अब्रुवन् ॥
उत्तमं सर्वधर्माणां तस्मात् पुत्रं न संत्यजेत् ॥
स्वपत्नीप्रभवान् पञ्च लब्धान् क्रीतान् विवर्धितान् ॥
कृतान् अन्यासु चोत्पन्नान् पुत्रान् वै मनुर् अब्रवीत् ॥
धर्मकीर्त्यावहा नॄणां मनसः प्रीतिवर्धनाः ॥
त्रायन्ते नरकाज् जाताः पुत्रा धर्मप्लवाः पितॄन् ॥
स त्वं नृपतिशार्दूल न पुत्रं त्यक्तुम् अर्हसि ॥
आत्मानं सत्यधर्मौ च पालयानो महीपते ॥
नरेन्द्रसिंह कपटं न वोढुं त्वम् इहार्हसि ॥
वरं कूपशताद् वापी वरं वापीशतात् क्रतुः ॥
वरं क्रतुशतात् पुत्रः सत्यं पुत्रशताद् वरम् ॥
अश्वमेधसहस्रं च सत्यं च तुलया धृतम् ॥
अश्वमेधसहस्राद् धि सत्यम् एव विशिष्यते ॥
सर्ववेदाधिगमनं सर्वतीर्थावगाहनम् ॥
सत्यं च वदतो राजन् समं वा स्यान् न वा समम् ॥
नास्ति सत्यात् परो धर्मो न सत्याद् विद्यते परम् ॥
न हि तीव्रतरं किं चिद् अनृताद् इह विद्यते ॥
राजन् सत्यं परं ब्रह्म सत्यं च समयः परः ॥
मा त्याक्षीः समयं राजन् सत्यं संगतम् अस्तु ते ॥
अनृते चेत् प्रसङ्गस् ते श्रद्दधासि न चेत् स्वयम् ॥
आत्मनो हन्त गच्छामि त्वादृशे नास्ति संगतम् ॥
ऋते ऽपि त्वयि दुःषन्त शैलराजावतंसकाम् ॥
चतुरन्ताम् इमाम् उर्वीं पुत्रो मे पालयिष्यति ॥
satyadharmacyutāt puṃsaḥ kruddhād āśīviṣād iva ||
anāstiko 'py udvijate janaḥ kiṃ punar āstikaḥ ||
svayam utpādya vai putraṃ sadṛśaṃ yo 'vamanyate ||
tasya devāḥ śriyaṃ ghnanti na ca lokān upāśnute ||
kulavaṃśapratiṣṭhāṃ hi pitaraḥ putram abruvan ||
uttamaṃ sarvadharmāṇāṃ tasmāt putraṃ na saṃtyajet ||
svapatnīprabhavān pañca labdhān krītān vivardhitān ||
kṛtān anyāsu cotpannān putrān vai manur abravīt ||
dharmakīrtyāvahā nṝṇāṃ manasaḥ prītivardhanāḥ ||
trāyante narakāj jātāḥ putrā dharmaplavāḥ pitṝn ||
sa tvaṃ nṛpatiśārdūla na putraṃ tyaktum arhasi ||
ātmānaṃ satyadharmau ca pālayāno mahīpate ||
narendrasiṃha kapaṭaṃ na voḍhuṃ tvam ihārhasi ||
varaṃ kūpaśatād vāpī varaṃ vāpīśatāt kratuḥ ||
varaṃ kratuśatāt putraḥ satyaṃ putraśatād varam ||
aśvamedhasahasraṃ ca satyaṃ ca tulayā dhṛtam ||
aśvamedhasahasrād dhi satyam eva viśiṣyate ||
sarvavedādhigamanaṃ sarvatīrthāvagāhanam ||
satyaṃ ca vadato rājan samaṃ vā syān na vā samam ||
nāsti satyāt paro dharmo na satyād vidyate param ||
na hi tīvrataraṃ kiṃ cid anṛtād iha vidyate ||
rājan satyaṃ paraṃ brahma satyaṃ ca samayaḥ paraḥ ||
mā tyākṣīḥ samayaṃ rājan satyaṃ saṃgatam astu te ||
anṛte cet prasaṅgas te śraddadhāsi na cet svayam ||
ātmano hanta gacchāmi tvādṛśe nāsti saṃgatam ||
ṛte 'pi tvayi duḥṣanta śailarājāvataṃsakām ||
caturantām imām urvīṃ putro me pālayiṣyati ||
“A person who has fallen away from truth and dharma, and who is enraged like a venomous serpent, is feared even by an unbeliever — what then of a believer? One who, having himself begotten a son like himself, despises him — from him the gods take away his prosperity, and he does not attain the blessed worlds. The ancients named the son the support of the family line and the best of all the fruits of dharma; therefore a son must not be rejected. Manu named five kinds of sons: one born of one’s own wife, one obtained, one bought, one raised, one adopted, and one begotten by another upon one’s wife. Sons who are truly born bring people dharma and glory, increase the joy of the heart, and, like boats of dharma, save their ancestors from hell. O tiger among kings, guarding yourself, truth, and dharma, you have no right to reject a son; O lion among kings, it does not become you to bear the burden of deceit. Better than a hundred wells is a pond, better than a hundred ponds is a sacrifice, better than a hundred sacrifices is a son, better than a hundred sons is truth. A thousand horse-sacrifices and truth were weighed on a scale — and truth outweighs a thousand ashvamedhas. The study of all the Vedas and bathing in all the holy places, and the speaking of truth, O king, may be equal to one another, or even not equal — truth is higher. There is no dharma higher than truth, nothing higher than truth; and there is nothing more terrible here than falsehood. O king, truth is the highest Brahman, truth is the highest bond; do not break the bond; may truth abide with you. If you are partial to falsehood and do not believe me yourself — then I will go away myself; there is no accord with one such as you. O Dushyanta, even without you my son will rule this earth to its four ends, crowned by the king of mountains [the Himalayas].”
111f26245a3c · 发布于 2026年7月12日 15:37:30 UTC
可用语言RUEN用方向键翻颂
Here Shakuntala proclaims the greatest praise of truth (satya) — and this is the moral center of the chapter. Notable is the ascending ladder of values: a pond is higher than wells, a sacrifice higher than ponds, a son higher than sacrifices, but truth is higher even than a son; and truth surpasses even a thousand ashvamedhas. This is one of the greatest sayings about satya: “truth is the highest Brahman” (satyam param brahma); truthfulness is the foundation of all dharma, for without it all rites and merits lose their worth. It is telling that this righteous woman places truth even above her son, though she has just been defending her son’s rights: it is not self-interest that moves her, but love of truth; she demands recognition for her son precisely because it is the truth. And her dignity is noble: rather than humbling herself with pleading, she departs on her own — “there is no accord with one such as you” — confident that her son will reign even without his father. Thus the scripture shows that truth does not need the recognition of the wrongdoer: it is its own support; and the righteous, firm in truth, do not lose their dignity before slander.